New Hobbies
by zosimos
Summary: Musebox: Edward, Rian and Kennichi decide to form a band. This goes about as well as can be expected.


Kenshin Himura was standing out on the porch of the Kansaki Sou with a mug of coffee in his hands. It was fairly warm for February, almost sixty degrees out but the rain was constant and dreary. It was no longer pouring from the sky, just a sprinkle here and there but it was a glorious respite from the bitter cold of the preceding winter.

Of course, the other reason he was out on the porch was because from here he could hear the racket emanating from the dojo without actually being present for it or accused of eavesdropping or interfering.

They had originally set up shop in the garage, but were quickly evicted by an irritated Ed with a shotgun. That was actually his first indicator that they were up to something was Ed shouting and Edward and Kennichi shouting back, while Rian prudently retreated. Their practice space eliminated, they then, more wisely, moved to the currently out-of-use dojo.

The front door opened and Kenshin glanced over his shoulder. It was the older Edward, holding a beer in his hand as he tested the evening air. "It's warmer outside than it looks," Kenshin said, and Edward nodded his head, and then pulled the door shut behind him. He moved to stand beside Kenshin, and Kenshin glanced up at the older version of his lover curiously. This Edward, Rian's Edward, was about half a head taller than he – not quite the height of the hunter Ed Elric, but still easy enough to gauge at a distance that he was not Kenshin's Edward or the angelic Edward, Sariel. It was still disconcerting, though, to have an Edward so close to his own be taller than him.

Edward took a sip of his beer, the racket emanating from the dojo taking a much-needed break. After a few moments of silence the steady patter of rain could be heard again.

Kenshin waited for Edward to say something, and when he did not speak, shrugged to himself and warmed his hands on the coffee mug. After a moment there came a clatter of someone attempting a drum solo and failing miserably, and Kenshin sighed as the ruckus started anew.

"Kennichi's the only one who can play an instrument," Kenshin murmured.

"Ah ha," Edward said. "That explains a lot."

Kennichi's voice could be heard faintly amid the clatter on the drum set, then the noise stopped and Edward started yelling too. "On one hand," Kenshin said. "They have a hobby. On the other hand, that drum set has had to be repaired seven times."

Edward laughed. "Rian has been practicing at the drums for a while, he doesn't sound too bad." There was a cymbal crash that sounded like it had been knocked over, and Edward winced.

"They can all sing," Kenshin said. "I don't see why they have to play their own instruments."

Edward gave Kenshin a look. "I know your Edward is slightly different than me, but really. Have you ever known him not to want to excel at something?"

"The laundry comes to mind," Kenshin said, and Edward laughed again.

This time the noise that came out of the dojo was twangy in nature, and they both heard Kennichi bellow, which turned very quickly into an amplified, canine snarl. Rian ducked out of the dojo in a hurry, and pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt when he realized it was still drizzling. The noise from inside the dojo only got louder, and there was a blue flicker of light that signified a transmutation. Kenshin heaved a sigh.

Rian trotted up the stairs to the house and paused, realizing there was an audience on the porch. "Hey," he said. "Colonel, uh, Himura-san."

Kenshin blew out a breath, amused. "Kenshin is fine, Rian, how many times to I have to tell you that?"

"Sorry," Rian said. "It just seems more appropriate."

Edward held an arm out and Rian ducked under it, so Edward had his arm slung over Rian's shoulder. Edward tugged down Rian's hood and pressed a kiss to the side of his head, and Rian laughed. "Leave the office at the office," Edward reminded him, pointing his long-neck beer at Rian.

Rian rolled his eyes and leaned into Edward. "Whatever."

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like a teenager again," Edward said with a grin. "The planets have realigned."

There was a terrific clatter as one of the drums rolled out of the dojo, and Edward came hurtling out of the open shoji door after it, the back of his shirt torn. He hit the ground running and not three steps behind him came Kennichi in wolf-form, still snarling. "And there they go," Kenshin said, setting his coffee on the railing. "Excuse me, I have a scuffle I need to break up." Kenshin retrieved a bokken from behind them both and trotted down the stairs, yelling after the combatants. "If this isn't over in thirty seconds I'm ending it!"

Edward chuckled and Rian sighed against him. "You having fun here, kid?"

"Who are you calling a kid?" Rian said indignantly, but leaned up for his kiss anyway.


End file.
